barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Sept 11, 2015 11:49:46 GMT -5
I am up in Las Vegas for a visit and had some time so I went out to Cactus Joe's in Blue Diamond just outside of Las Vegas. It is mainly a nursery, but they have a ton of rocks also. The folks out there were really nice and the selection of rock was great. The owner came by and showed me where they have the rocks they have not gone through yet. He mentioned that recently someone had found a nice piece of Tiffany stone worth a lot. I found half a dozen pieces myself. The bulk rock is $5/lb which is a very good price. I got a 10 lb block of jade, Tiffany stone, opalite, moss agate, chapinite, montana agate, picture jasper, damsonite, seam agate. I also saw geodes, petrified wood, chalcedony, obsidian, onyx, travertine, dumortierite, corpralite, blood stone. Their website is www.cactusjoeslasvegas.com. They are open Friday - Monday only. |
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Post by vegasjames on Sept 11, 2015 17:37:24 GMT -5
I am up in Las Vegas for a visit and had some time so I went out to Cactus Joe's in Blue Diamond just outside of Las Vegas. It is mainly a nursery, but they have a ton of rocks also. The folks out there were really nice and the selection of rock was great. The owner came by and showed me where they have the rocks they have not gone through yet. He mentioned that recently someone had found a nice piece of Tiffany stone worth a lot. I found half a dozen pieces myself. The bulk rock is $5/lb which is a very good price. I got a 10 lb block of jade, Tiffany stone, opalite, moss agate, chapinite, montana agate, picture jasper, damsonite, seam agate. I also saw geodes, petrified wood, chalcedony, obsidian, onyx, travertine, dumortierite, corpralite, blood stone. Their website is www.cactusjoeslasvegas.com. They are open Friday - Monday only. I have not been out there yet, but one of the gem club members was out there recently and did come back with some really nice stuff. The Tiffany stone is likely from Nevada. I took the club on a field trip to the deposit about a year ago. The material varies a lot in color and pattern as well ads hardness and stability since Tiffany stone is a mix of up to 16 different minerals instead of a rock with a specific composition. There is a trick to help get a polish on the softer stuff, which contains a lot of dolomite (calcium carbonate). When I get down to the polishing wheels after getting the cab shaped I soak the cab in oxalic acid. This creates harder, insoluble calcium oxalate crystals in the stone helping to harden it. |
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Sept 11, 2015 18:07:19 GMT -5
I had heard that the Tiffany Stone deposit was either played out or no longer accessible. Nice to hear it is still there. Thank you for the tip on working Tiffany Stone, I haven't played with it before.
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Post by vegasjames on Sept 11, 2015 19:21:35 GMT -5
I had heard that the Tiffany Stone deposit was either played out or no longer accessible. Nice to hear it is still there. Thank you for the tip on working Tiffany Stone, I haven't played with it before. That is one of the Utah deposits (Brush-Wellman). There is a common myth that Tiffany stone is only found in this one mine in Utah. Tiffany stone has been found in several mines in Utah and has also been found in Nevada. I found one of the Nevada deposits a few years ago, and have heard from someone that the same material can be found in another spot South of where I collect. Although I have not gone looking for that second deposit. Someone on another board posted a link to an old mining journal article taking about a Nevada deposit of Tiffany stone. I wish I could find that post again because they may be talking about that second deposit. |
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